How do I stop an application from starting when Windows XP boots?

This is perhaps one of the great challenges of customizing Windows XP, actually, being able to retain control over what applications start and run when you boot up your computer. Ignore the issue and over time you find that more and more applications start up and gradually slow down your computer until not only does it take forever to start your computer, but it runs glacially anyway. Not good.

Problem is that unless you know where these startup apps are stored and how to modify the Start menu, you'll likely to throw your hands up in disgust and succumb to the random slowdown. Or download suspicious apps that are supposed to "control" your startup but might well inject their own spyware or malware into your system too.

So let me solve this problem and show you how to delete apps that are part of your startup process!

Fortunately (I think) there's an app on my main Windows XP system that has been bugging me and I've wanted to delete anyway: the BlackBerry Desktop Manager:

I haven't used a BlackBerry for at least sixteen months (ever since I got my first Apple iPhone, actually) so why the heck, sixteen months later, am I still running this goofy app and having to quit it each time I start up my PC? Sheesh!

To delete it you need to go to the Start Menu, then find Start --> All Programs --> Startup:

Here's the secret: right click on the item in that Startup menu that is the app you want to delete. Like this:

Lots on that contextual menu, but notice "Delete". Yes, by deleting this from the Startup menu, you also actually stop this application or utility from launching when you boot up Microsoft Windows XP! In fact, it kinda tells you that:

To actually delete the program itself, you need to go back to the START menu and choose Control Panels:

Now you want to go to "Add or Remove Programs":

And, finally, scroll down and choose the specific app you want to axe:

Click "Remove" and... a few minutes later, you're done!

That should help you wrestle your startup sequence back under control.